


A Trainer

by Blindmag



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29608521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blindmag/pseuds/Blindmag
Summary: A short fic of Achilles meeting Zagreus as a baby, and then a jump to him training him as a teen years later.
Relationships: Achilles & Nyx (Hades Video Game), Achilles & Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Kudos: 32





	A Trainer

The lights were dim in the house of Hades that night. Even dimmer than the usually reserved atmosphere that the Lord and Lady were so fond of. As Achilles walked the halls, obeying his summons, he found that the quiet consumed him. His mind was almost always in a state of lingering on things that once were and could be no longer, but that night, he was properly distracted. They had all heard the cries of a child, the newborn that the rumors had basically brought to life. All so much secrecy. All whispers from shades that Achilles never tuned his ears to. But the cries of this child stopped almost as soon as they had come. And the quiet was deafening now. He stopped outside the door of Lord Hades himself, staring at the carved sigils of his master, and knocked gently, just barely enough to be heard. Who came to the door was Night Incarnate herself, the Lady Nyx, whose very presence brought upon a cold, dull chill around her that cooled his ghostly flesh.  
“Lord Achilles, thank you for coming.” Her distorted, throaty voice always brought upon a certain influenced calmness.  
“Not at all.” He mumbled, folding his arms, “What has happened?”  
“A great many things. Hades has asked that you come and see his child.”  
“His child?” He blinked, a bit shocked at this news, “I thought the rumors were-”  
“In this case they are true.”  
“Is he yours, my lady?” He asked.  
“He is _Hades_ ’ child.” She said, a touch of irritation in her voice. It wasn’t exactly an answer to his question, and he was a bit confused by this, but he didn’t press it.  
Achilles strode hesitantly into the dark room, the bed chamber of Lord Hades himself, where a great struggle had clearly taken place. Tension hung in the air like fresh screams or crying that had just been cut off. The bed was empty, and there was a bassinet in the corner where the baby lay. Achilles glanced around at first, looking for Lord Hades, but he wasn’t the type of god that could simply hide himself away, even in such darkness. Achilles approached the bassinet and glanced inside.  
A small pink slip of a babe lay there, the tiniest brush of black hair upon his head. He was barely moving and for a terrifying moment, Achilles considered that the baby may actually be dead. But then, with a gentle flutter, his eyes just barely opened and gazed up at him. One of them a black and red eye; Hades’ very eye plucked straight from his head and placed into his son’s. The other eye was a gentle, welcoming green, much more reminiscent of a mortal. And his feet were different, illuminated red as if there were tiny flames inside each giving them a tender glow. Achilles couldn’t help but gaze down at the child for a moment as he was a bit unsure, and then offered a finger to him, which the baby immediately reached for and enclosed all of his tiny fingers around with a certain intensity. He stood rigidly still, his pointer finger being held desperately by the dark prince’s miniature fingers, and found himself smiling for the first time in what felt like decades.  
As he walked back out, he found Nyx waiting there. “The child lives, doesn’t he?” She asked, avoiding eye contact.  
“Of course. He is very alive.” Achilles frowned, “What has happened?”  
The swirling galaxies in Nyx’s eyes intensified, flashing as if even beyond her own will, and she ignored his question, “Lord Hades has had to take a leave, for now. Would you watch the child?”  
“Me?” He stuck his finger into his chest, “He wants _me_ to?”  
“Those were his words.” Achilles entered the bed chamber once more and fetched the baby, holding it to his chest. He found him oddly warm, something he hadn’t felt in so long that the distant memory actually brought tears to his eyes. He carried the child out and Nyx covered them in a blanket. “To your bed chamber, Lord Achilles. Hide him there and lock the door. Do not speak to any shades. Their gossip could get out.”  
“This is serious, isn’t it?” He asked, ensuring that the little prince’s head was covered and supported on his chest.  
“It’s better that you don’t know. Go.” She ordered him, her face gently but stern. And as he turned to walk away, he felt her slip away into darkness. He knew that if he turned around, she would be gone. It was her way, she would often vanish in the same habit as her sons. He hurried through the halls, ducking into whatever pockets of cover and shade he could to avoid any eyes. The baby’s gentle breaths distracted him, but he tried not to stop until he made it to his room and slammed the door. He laid the babe out on the bed and covered him in a silk cloth. His heart was pounding, and his body was shimmering rather than trembling like it would have done had he still been in the mortal realm.  
He wasn’t sure what to do next and had no clue what great thing had happened in the hall that night, but he knew that he would protect this baby however he could. If for no other reason, to protect the first being to make him smile in a lifetime. This baby, this innocent, had hurt no one and had no blood on his tiny hands. Achilles somehow worked it out in his mind that night, as he waited for word and paced in his bed chamber, to keep it that way.  
Perhaps, he thought to himself with a shake of his head, that was exactly why Lord Hades had chosen him for this mission.

* * *

-Several years later-

* * *

“Light steps, lad. Come, on your toes!”  
“I am doing it.” Zagreus flipped around, regripping the spear and encircling Achilles in the space. They were both panting, sweating, and had been at it for hours. But Achilles would be damned if he would let him out of this training without getting this perfect. “This is ridiculous, Lord Achilles. I am exhausted.” Zagreus breathed, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes.  
“That’s exactly when an enemy will take advantage of you. Some of them will wait for exactly this moment. Oh look, the prince is tired, he’s leaning on his spear.” Achilles abruptly flipped his spear around to the blunt end and knocked Zagreus’ feet out from under him, forcing him to his knees and then directing the sharp end of the spear right under his chin. “And then they’ll have you. Once more.”  
Zagreus groaned, but couldn’t help but smile, “Fine . . .”  
“From the top. Come at me. Watch your grip and watch your feet. Mind everything.” That time went better. Zagreus moved beautifully, minding everything he was taught and dashing fluidly around as the blows were thrown at him. As they concluded the training, Zagreus dropped to his knees and splashed water from a reservoir onto his face. He sighed and laid out, looking defeated. Achilles chuckled and sat upon a piece of dark marble. “What was on your mind today, lad?”  
“Everything. Father being foolish, as always.” Achilles listened to the young boy, as he always did, with tender eyes and silent patience. Zagreus would often go on at length about how trapped he felt, and those feelings were increasingly being verbalized, which was causing tension in the Great Hall . . . or, so the rumors of shades said. “All I have to do is ask about anything and he tells me not to worry or that it isn’t my business. He . . . just doesn’t want me to know things. He just wants me to say yes and do whatever he wants.”  
“Well, yes.” Achilles laughed, “That would be agreeable, as he’s your father.”  
Zagreus sat up and traced his finger in the cool water, frowning. There was suffering in his eyes. Achilles had noticed that with each passing year, the longing and pain in the boy's eyes became more worrisome. “Mother Nyx isn’t as cruel, but she dismisses me too. Why? Why is it so bad to be curious?” He tucked his legs in and rested his chin in his hands in a pouting fashion. Achilles laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder.  
“It isn’t. But you should know, they want what’s best for you.”  
Zagreus grunted at that and puffed his cheeks with doubt. “That’s what I keep getting told.” He turned just then, his eyes wide with a thousand questions. “Did you know that Father has brothers? Two of them. And they are gods too, but only not like him.”  
“Yes. I know this.”  
“Can you take me to them? Can I meet them?” Zagreus’ voice went up an octave from pure excitement. The fire of his feet became brighter with his enthusiasm as well.  
“I cannot, lad.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because.” He tapped his spear that was resting on the ground between them, “I am but your trainer. I have no such power to remove you from here. Lord Hades would destroy what was left of me if I did.”  
The light left the boy’s eyes almost immediately and he rested his chin on his hands again. “Sometimes I just wonder what is out there. Just, others. Who else I could call kin besides just Father and Mother Nyx.”  
“What about Than?” Achilles inquired knowingly, raising his eyebrows, “You two are great friends, you run around everywhere together. And Megaera. Last year, I had to physically separate all three of you sometimes just to get you to come to training.”  
“Yeah. I have them.” Zagreus nodded, his eyes miles away, “Of course. I just…”  
“You want more.” Achilles chuckled, “Typical prince.”  
“ _Oi_ ,” Zagreus grunted, offended, “I am not, sir! I try to be what everyone wants me to be every day.”  
“I know. Come, let’s get you to dinner before I am chastised for you being late once more.” They walked together through the bustling halls of shades. The whispers in the crowds of spirits always made the boy’s ears prick up, but Achilles was accustomed to tenderly turning the boy's head away from it and keeping him focused. Today there was no need, for the boy’s head was heavy and his ears heeded no rumors. As they passed the fields and the gardens that were all devoid of flowers and plants for as long as Zagreus had been alive, they reached the main hall where the bubbling ruby pit of Styx connected with his father’s entrance court. He walked alongside Achilles with his head hung low, sulking the dramatic way only a teenager could.  
Lord Hades sat there, an intimidating, villainous presence if but calm and reserved. He stroked his great beard as he scribbled upon scrolls, but he stopped the next shade from approaching as he looked down upon his son. “Ah, boy, you are back from training,” Zagreus said nothing in response, keeping his gaze low. Hades did not seem at all perturbed by his son’s silence. “How did he do, Achilles?”  
“Beautifully today. We mastered a flourish and dodge. He is doing very well.”  
“Good to hear. At least he isn’t shirking _that_ responsibility.” Zagreus’s fists clenched at his sides but he said nothing, his lips pressed into a hard line. Lord Hades’ eyes glittered with an incomprehensible pain that dissipated like dust in the wind. “Come, we shall attend dinner. Achilles, would you join us?”  
“I couldn’t, my lord.” Achilles said, patting Zagreus forward to follow his father as he stepped down from his desk, completely overloaded with scrolls. The boy trudged along, utterly dwarfed by his father’s enormous form. They barely fit down the hall together as they walked, but Zagreus did what he could to put distance between them. Achilles' heart ached as he watched, suddenly aware that Nyx was beside him.  
“Good evening, my lady.”  
“His heart grows wearier every day, does it not?” She asked in a moan.  
“I’m afraid so. I can only console him so much.”  
“It’s as I feared, then.” Her dark eyes shifted as her impassive gaze took a slightly more tortured expression. “One day, we won’t be able to stop him, will we?”  
“I suppose not. He is a free-thinking, strong-willed boy.” Achilles’ eyes stayed on his apprentice until he vanished around the corner, “If he gets his tenacious mind wrapped around something, who are we to stop him?”  
Later that night, deep into the quiet hours when the hall was usually empty, Achilles was at his post, letting his mind drift back to past things as he often did when he was alone. Past words and actions, a touch he missed like the touch of true warmth. Allowing his mind to indulge this served to only hurt him as a slight sound brought him out of it.  
“Oh, lad.” He cleared his throat and forced the memories out of his mind. Zagreus was drowsy and scrubbed at his eyes as he gazed up at him.  
“I cannot sleep.”  
They walked to his bed chamber and Achilles sat on the end of the bed, as the boy chewed absentmindedly on a pomegranate and sat among his pillows, Achilles recalled a tale of one of his many battles. He spoke of bravery, of might, of having to give everything he had to slay his enemies. Zagreus listened, eyes sparkling but gradually getting heavier. The boy curled up as Achilles finished the tale, “Although, you are old enough to know now, being a hero isn’t as noble as you’d think. Being the one to slay so many, the one that others hold up upon a pedestal that even you cannot measure up to, it is the kind of weight that no man can lift.” He felt himself becoming broody and he sighed, getting to his feet to let the prince try to get some sleep, but Zagreus piped up,  
“Do you miss being up there? Or what do you miss most?”  
“The most…?” Achilles immediately stopped a name from slipping out of his mouth and he forced a smile onto his lips, “The sun.” He closed his eyes, it helped him remember it vividly, “Like a warm, constant embrace. The sun greeted you every morning and wished you a good rest at night. It was always there, there was no judgment, even when the world came crashing down upon you and nothing made sense, there it was. Bright, warm, unending.” The boy watched him with eyes that demonstrated how much he was trying to understand but had nothing to relate it to.  
“Will I see it someday?”  
Achilles tousled his hair. “Oh . . . we’ll see, I suppose.”


End file.
